> NOVEL DUNDALK CHURCH TO FOLLOW TRADITION
>
> Clerics will hark back to old-style liturgy
>
> by Steve Pingel
> The Dundalk Eagle, 7/3/08
>
> This week, St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church on Eastern Avenue
> became the newest site of the North American Old Catholic Church. The
> idea, according to a June 25 press release, is to reach out to
> "younger unchurched, and to older, traditional Catholics."
>
> St. Andrew the First-Called Orthodox Church will operate out of the
> St. Peter chapel.
>
> Additionally, the FutureCare NorthPoint center on Old North Point Road
> will host the Most Holy Theotokos Orthodox Church, a parochial mission
> that will offer services to FutureCare residents.
>
> The liturgies being offered are the same ones used by Eastern
> Christians during the early days of the church, dated as far back as
> 400 A.D.
>
> "We have established a good working relationship with Pastor Bob
> Harvey at St. Peter," said the Very Rev. Daniel J. Garguillio, pastor
> at both Dundalk sites and abbot of the Holy Cross Monastery, whose
> clerics will staff the locations. "And since St. Andrew the Apostle
> was the brother of St. Peter, it seemed a more than apt location for
> [St. Andrew]."
>
> Most Holy Theotokos is at FutureCare, he said, because "many of the
> clergy of the North American Old Catholic Church are involved in
> nursing home ministry, as a way of reaching out to people who are
> often marginalized and forgotten by society."
>
> The Old Catholic Church is a Christian denomination whose originating
> churches split from the Roman Catholic Church more than a century ago.
>
> Garguillio feels there is an attraction for ancient prayer that steps
> away from "modernized" worship, which is why the parish will offer the
> liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.
>
> "Our solemn, respected and chanted liturgy appeals to, and therefore
> brings Christianity to, Goths, Renaissance Faire enthusiasts and many
> other individuals who may just feel that the worship of God should
> look like something other than an entertainment event," something that
> people "just can't get anywhere else," Garguillio wrote in an e-mail.
>
> "Beyond that," he continued, "let's face it: being able to attend the
> same liturgy service which was seen by Byzantine emperors, early
> saints and so forth is just, well, fantastic."
>
> The service consists mostly of songs and hymns and offering of the
> Communion, and closes with final thoughts and prayers from the
> presiding cleric.
>
> The Holy Cross Monastery, Garguillio explained, is a religious
> community in the most ancient Eastern Orthodox tradition, in communion
> with the North American Old Catholic Church.
>
> 'We currently function as an "extended community," but are in the
> process of acquiring a property suitable for the use of spiritual
> retreats, ascetic practice, etc.," Garguillio wrote.
>
> In order to best support the sites, he said, that building will be in
> the Dundalk or Highlandtown area.
>
> Promotions are primarily through press releases from the North
> American Old Catholic Church, word of mouth and integration into the
> newsletter for St. Peter, Garguillio said.
>
> "We're honored to have you," the Rev. Robert M. Harvey of St. Peter
> said to Garguillio at St. Andrew's first liturgy last weekend.
>
> The 3 p.m. liturgy at St. Andrew will be held every Sunday.
>
> For more information, contact pastor Daniel Garguillio at
> revdaniel@garguillio.com or 1-888-650-1817, ext. 110, or visit
> http://church.garguillio.com
>
>